My Beautiful Childhood Friend Is Working in a Maid Cafe For Some Reason

Chapter 23: I Met My Childhood Friend Again at the Maid Cafe (1)

Friday—

As usual, I was standing in front of “Poplar.”

Last week, Yukina wasn’t there, and I had heard from Miyuki-san that Yukina doesn’t work on Fridays, so I felt relieved as I entered the cafe.

I opened the door, feeling excited.

And then—I was speechless.

“W-Welcome home, Master!”

Wh-Why is Yukina here…?!

It was Yukina who greeted me. Her cheeks were blushing with embarrassment, and she tried to hide it by glaring at me.

Anyone who saw her like that would definitely fall for her. Yukina was an adorable maid.

But I was different. I was too shocked to even close my gaping mouth.

What is this… déjà vu?

“A-Are you alone?”

I was so surprised I couldn’t speak.

Instead, I just gave a small nod.

“Yes. Well, you can tell just by looking.”

Yukina knew I was alone, yet she still asked and then treated me as usual. Her cheeks were still red…

She’s being way too casual just because it’s me!

“Well then, Master, I’ll show you to your seat.”

Yukina was about to lead me to a seat, but I was frozen in place. Seeing me like that, she turned back and—

“Hehe, looks like my surprise attack was a success. Are you that shocked to see me here? Or are you just captivated by how I look?”

She flashed a mischievous smile.

She looked like a cute little devil… I could almost see small black wings sprouting from her back.

No, no, I need to get a grip. Wings are just an illusion. Yukina is a human.

“…The first one.”

“Hmph, you don’t have to act so tough. If you just admit you were captivated, I’ll give you a little extra service.”

“I’ve seen you before…”

Well, I admit she’s cute.

But if I say it out loud, I’ll feel like I’ve lost, and I don’t want her to get too full of herself.

“Besides, don’t say things like that to anyone else but me.”

“Th-That means I can say it to you…?”

“Yeah.”

I was serious.

The feeling I had was genuine. It was the truth.

For some reason, Yukina’s face turned bright red.

“Do you really hate the idea of me interacting with other masters that much? F-Fine, then. I’ll be only Yusuke’s—”

“What are you misunderstanding?”

“Huh?”

“I’m saying this for the customers’ sake.”

“Huh…?”

“If you make other guys misunderstand and they try to make a move on you, what would happen? They could get banned from the cafe or even end up in jail. It would be sad if they came here to have fun and couldn’t come back, right? That’s why I’m telling you not to say that to anyone else.”

If Yukina said something like that to me, I wouldn’t make a move. We’ve been talking more recently, but that doesn’t mean I want to be her boyfriend. I know her true nature, after all.

“Besides, you like someone else, right? You told me before that you wouldn’t let anyone else touch you. I know that by ‘service’ you mean giving bigger portions of food or something, but…”

Still, if a master got too excited and tried to force themselves on Yukina… it could happen. That would be a real shame, and as her childhood friend, I have to warn her.

“Anyway, for your sake and the customers’, only say those things to me. Got it? Now, please show me to my seat.”

Standing here and talking is annoying, and Miyuki-san and the others might find it suspicious.

Besides, if Miyuki-san were here, I’d ask her why Yukina is here today!

“…It’s okay if I say it to you?”

“Yeah. I can handle it.”

I do feel a bit sorry for the guy Yukina likes, but to prevent any weird situations, it’s better if I take the brunt of it.

So, I answered right away.

“You idiot!”

“Huh?!”

Yukina’s face turned red for a different reason this time. It was almost like steam was coming out of her head… I even thought I heard a “puff” sound.

But why did she get mad?

“Come on, let’s go to your seat. Hurry up and follow me!”

It felt like our roles had reversed, with Yukina as the master and me as the maid… or butler. But I decided not to say anything.

I quietly followed Yukina as she led me to a seat.

—

Chapter 24: I Met My Childhood Friend Again at the Maid Cafe (2)

“So, what would you like to order?”

After being shown to my seat by Yukina, she asked for my order. For some reason, she seemed to be in a bad mood, her face pouty.

“‘Delicious Omelette Rice, please.’”

I answered without hesitation. After all, I came here just to eat this omelette rice.

“‘Delicious Omelette Rice,’ right? Please wait a moment.”

Yukina confirmed my order and then quickly left to relay it to the kitchen.

Why is she upset? I wondered as I glanced around the cafe. As usual, there were a decent number of customers here, including me, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, chatting happily.

Among them, Miyuki-san, who hadn’t yet started serving customers, emerged from the back and walked over to me.

“Yusuke-kun.”

“Miyuki-san.”

Miyuki-san smiled at me, but her smile seemed a bit mischievous. She covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at me.

I was curious about her, but there was something more pressing on my mind.

“Um, Miyuki-san.”

I spoke in a low voice, so only she could hear.

“What is it?”

“Well, um… why?”

I hoped she would understand what I meant just from that.

I wanted to know why Yukina was here today.

As expected, Miyuki-san seemed to understand my question and said, “You mean Yukina-chan, right?” I nodded in response.

However, Miyuki-san didn’t give me a direct answer.

Instead, she said—

“Yukina-chan is really cute, isn’t she?”

She chuckled to herself.

I didn’t understand what she meant.

“Um—”

I was about to ask what she meant when—

“Miyuki-senpai, what are you doing?!”

Yukina came back and quickly pulled Miyuki-san’s arm. She seemed a bit flustered.

“Sorry, sorry. I was just having a little chat.”

“Auuu…”

Miyuki-san apologized with a gentle smile and patted Yukina’s head softly. Yukina let out a strange sound and seemed bewildered, but she quickly pulled away from Miyuki-san, looking hostile.

“I’m the one who’s supposed to serve the Master, so Miyuki-senpai, please go over there!”

“Alright, alright.”

Miyuki-san patted Yukina’s head again, as if she were petting a cute, rebellious puppy. From her expression, it was clear she found Yukina’s behavior adorable.

A beautiful girl patting the head of another beautiful girl… that’s nice!

It was so heartwarming that it felt like being transported to another world, and both the other maids and customers were captivated, holding their breath as they watched the two.

“Geez…!”

After Miyuki-san returned to the back, Yukina puffed out her cheeks in frustration, muttering something that sounded like a complaint.

However, it wasn’t that she was truly angry… more like she was frustrated at being treated like a child by the mature Miyuki-san.

It’s true, it would be hard for Yukina to become like Miyuki-san in just a few years… unless she had some sort of super growth spurt.

“Hup.”

“Hey!”

Wait a minute…!

Just like when we first met, Yukina pulled up a chair and sat down next to me. By the way, I was sitting at a two-person table today as well.

“Why are you sitting next to me…?”

“I-It doesn’t matter where I sit, does it?”

Well, that’s true. Yukina is free to sit wherever she feels comfortable working.

But today is different from last time. There’s no need to pretend we’re getting along for Aoi-san’s sake. Besides, when I looked around, none of the other customers were sitting next to the maids they were talking to.

In other words, there’s no reason for her to sit next to me.

And since we’re just having a conversation, it doesn’t really matter if she’s sitting next to me or not.

“So, w-what were you talking about?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking what you were talking about with Miyuki-senpai!”

“What were we…”

Uh oh… If I tell her I was asking why she’s here, it might upset her, so I should probably lie!

But why are they watching us?

From the back, Miyuki-san and Aoi-san were looking over at us, laughing and chatting about something that seemed amusing.

“Uh, small talk?”

“Hmph… and you were grinning the whole time?”

“W-What!? I wasn’t grinning!”